LA Now! July 25, 2008

VOL. 9, NO. 15 JULY 25,2008BATON ROUGE, LA NON-PROFIT U. S. POSTAGE PAIDBATON ROUGE,LA PERMIT#575 527NorthBlvd. BatonRouge,LA 70802-5700 Four More Years! Academy /7 UMW Special Section/3-6 SCJ Conference/8 Two hundred and ninety seven delegates from throughout the South Central Jurisdiction of The United Methodist Church gathered in Dallas July 16-19 to elect three new bishops. Bishop William W. Hutchinson, who has served the Louisiana Conference for the last two quadrenniums, was reappointed to lead the conference for another four years. “My greatest hopes have come to be. I’m really excited about the next four years and all the possibilities that are there. The joy of coming home to Louisiana fulfills our spirits,” said Bishop Hutchinson. Earl Bledsoe, the first new bishop to be elected by the jurisdictional body, will serve the North Texas conference. Mike Lowry will be the new Episcopal leader for the Central Texas conference. Jim Dorff, who was elected on the twentythird ballot, will be serving the San Antonio area. Bledsoe, 57, has been a district superBishop Hutchinson to return to Louisiana Conference See Jurisdictional, page 8 Four local churches in the Louisiana Annual Conference have received matching grants from United Methodist Communications for this fall. Asbury United Methodist Church in Lafayette has scheduled advertising campaigns during the Back to School and Advent flights for the “Open Hearts” Igniting Ministry initiative. Newspaper, radio and cinema ads will run simultaneously with nationally placed television ads that will benefit the entire conference. Broadmoor UMC in Shreveport is receiving a matching grant for the construction of an LED sign for the church. The Well UMC, serving the Tangipahoa area, and Faith Crossings UMC in Denham Springs/Walker are both the recipients of new church start funds for their respective launches in October. Faith Crossings will incorporate a campaign consisting of direct mail and billboards. The Well will use direct mail, billboards, cinema and newspaper ads. Louisiana churches receive‘Open Hearts’grants Bishop William W. Hutchinson was reassigned to the Louisiana Annual Conference for four more years during the South Central Jurisdictional Conference held July 16-19 in Dallas,Tex. Hutchinson heard the news early Saturday morning. Voting on new Episcopal candidates ran later than expected, pushing back the announcement of assignments until 1:35 a. m. Clockwise from above right, Bishop Hutchinson and his wife Kay are congratulated by delegates Rev. Danny Gleason, Rev. Andy Goff and Dr. Terrel DeVille. Jurisdictional conference delegates are shown waving flags celebrating the Lydia Patterson Institute in El Paso. Kay Hutchinson is shown welcoming newly elected bishop, Mike Lowry. Bishop Hutchinson helped escort Lowry to the podium. For the latest information regarding disaster response efforts, visit the La. Conference web site at www. la-umc. org or contact the UM Disaster Response Center at (225) 346-5193 BY BETTY BACKSTROM